Bag closer



Nov. 27, 1923.

l. T. ENGLISH BAG CLOSER Filed Jan. l2 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 271923.

l. T. ENGLISH BAG CLOSER Filed Jan. 12. 1921 s ysheets-stmt 2 ft; v

Amm/vnf BAG CLSER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 12. 1921 AWORNEV inldlc-iv. E??

tllllfED STATES ift-.34759759 IRA T. ENGLISH, OF PQRTLAND, OREG-ON.

BAG CLQSER.

Application filed January 12, 1921. Serial No. 436,730.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it hereby known that l, IRA T. ENG- Lrs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and Stateof regon, have invented a new and useful Closer, of Which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to devices for closing clothbags after they i0 have been filled.

The obj ect of my invention is to minimize the amount of labor entailedin the packing, Weighing and closinn' of bags.

l attain these results in the manner described in the following'specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

VFigure 1 is a side elevation of the device and Figure 2 a frontelevation. Fi 1re 3 is an enlarged plan 0f the device. Figure l anenlarged sectional elevation along the line l-l in Figure 3.

Similar numbers of reference refer to the same or similar partsthroughout the several views.

Referring in detail to the drawings, it will be understood that thisdevice is to be used in connection with any suitable packing or fillingmachine which introduces nearly the required amount of material into thesack 5. This sack is now placed upon a scale 6 Where it is accuratelyweighed and additional material added from the boX 7 if required.

At the present time a sewing machine head is commonly employed in theart. This head has a horizontal needle heid at a height which willcorrespond 'with the height of the sack 5. At the present time this headis 2.9 held stationary and the sack 5 is usually fed toward same on atraveling belt or conveyor. @ne operator of the sewing machine therebycloses sacks for a number of different packers, in which method manydiflioulties are encountered. l-n order to avoid these difficulties lhave constructed my machine as follows:

@n the horizontal base 9 l have erected a pair of vertical standards 10Which act as guides for a scale platform 11 which is made verticallyadjustable by means of the holes 12 in the standards 10 and the slide 13of the scale platform 11. Bridging across the horizontal )ort-ions lllof the standards 10 is the channel iron 15 joined to said horizontalmembers by means of the short angle irons 16. Upon the bottom of thevchannel 15 is secured a strip of Wood or metal 16A upon which issecured a raclr 17 by means of the bolts 1S Which pass through thebottom of 00 the channel 15. A horizontal carriage mem- 'ber 19 carryingthe rollers 20=Which engage the sides of the channel 15 is supplied withan apron 21 to which is secured the sewing head 8. lt Will be seen thatthe sewing head G5 is now movable in a direction at right angles to theneedle and in a horizontal plane.

0n the rearward end of the carriage member 19 I have mounted a motor 22equipped With a pulley 23. @n the forward end of 70 the member 19 l haveerected the standards 24 and 25 which support the horizontal shaft uponwhich is mounted a step pulley, 27 over Which is passed a round belt 28Which passes around the idler Wheels V29 on the 75 standards 30 whichare secured to the member 19 and then around the pulley 31 of the sewinghead 8. Near the opposite end of the shaft 26 .l have placed a clutchpulley 32 which is slidably mounted on the shaft and 30 driven by thebelt 33 from the pulley 23 of the motor 22. A bracket 34 supports theshouldered end 35 of the shaft 26 and is supported by the member 25.

A clutch cone 36 is slidably mounted on S5 the shaft 26 and securedagainst rotation by the spline 37. The clutch cone 36 is adapted toengage the interior face of the pulley 32 and is held out of engagementWith same by means ofthe spring 38.V per groove ee 39 formed in the hub410 of the member 36 engages the pins ll1 in the lever t2 which ismounted on the shaft 13 in the brackets it which are secured to the sideof the meniber 25. i forked lever Ll5 is also attached 95 to the shaft113 and engages the pins i6 projecting from the collar e7.

rllhe collar e7 is secured to a vertically movable shaft 48 alsocarrying the forked arm fl-9 vr lose pins 50 engage the slot 51 in 100the clutch collar 52. When raised this clutch collar engagessimilarteeth on the under side of a hub of a Worm Wheel 53. rlhis Worm wheeland clutch collar are mounted on a. vertical shaft 54 whose upper endjour- 105 nals in the bearing 55 projecting from the member 25. Thelower end of the shaft 54 is supported by the member 19 beneath which itcarries a pinion 56 which meshes with the rack 17. The clutch collar 52is 110 slidably mounted on the shaft 54 and splined thereon.

The shaft 48 guides at its upper end in the member 25 and near itsmiddle in the meinber 19. A T-shaped member 57 is secured to the lowerend of the shaft 48 and is adapted to slide loosely upon the horizontalrod 58 supported at its outer ends in the T-shaped members "59 which arecarried on the upper ends of the rods 60. These rods are joined at theirlower end 61 to a foot treadle (32 having its ulcrum G3 near its center.

The operation ol' my device is as follows: After the sack 5 has beenbrought to almost the correct weight by the packer it is placed upon thescale 6 where it is brought up to requirements in weight, as beforeexplained. The operator, or packer as he is kncwn in the art, new placesan empty sack under his packing machine and turns his attention to thesack which is ready for sewing. YHNith his hands he brings the mouth ofthe sack 5 between the presser 'foot cit the `leed plates oit' thesewing head in tne usual manner and then by depressing' the treadle withhis loot he raises the shalt i8 and thereby throws the cone 3G intoengagement with its pulley 32 which now rotates the shalt 26, which inturn drives the needle. At the same time the clutch collar 52 is broughtinto engagement with the worm wheel 53, and the pinion 56 is therebycaused to rotate and propel the carriage 19 along on its track 1T at thecorrect sewing speed.

When it is desired to temporarily sew sacks which are to be again openedbefore being shipped it is only necessary to reverse the step pulley 27and use a shorter belt which will produce a longer stitch than securedby the use of the large pulley.

Only one clutch mechanism would be required were it not for the factthat the needle should be working etere 'the feeding action is begun,the object being to sew a short chain oi stitches at beth ends ot theseam, which acts as a lock lor the closirg seam and prevents unraveliugult is preferable to sew about cue inch et this chain oiE A stittdicsbetere and utter the needle enters a chain of stitches of suiiicientlength has been produced.

This construction precludes the possibility or the operator leaving tooshort a chain at the beginning of a seam with the result that if thesack is handled roughly the seam will unravel and cause a loss of thecontents of the bag.

It will be observed that there are numerous ways in which these resultscould be attained, but l have illustrated this particular form as bestillustrating the invention set forth in the claims following in which lclaim:

l. In a carriage for traveling sewing heads, the combination of a track,a carriage mounted on said track, meter niiounted on said carriage, a.main shalt driven by said motor and mounted transversely on saidcarriage, a clutch interposed between said main shaft and motor, areduction gear driven from said main shaft and mounted on a verticalshat, a pinion secured to the lower end or said vertical shaft, a racksecured to said track and meshing with said pinion, a clutch interposedbetween said driving shalt and said pinion, and a lioot treadle meansarranged to actuate both clutches almost simultaneously, said main shaftclutch coming into engagement slightly betere the feed operating clutch.

2. in a machine for sewing sacks, the combination of a sewing headhaving a horizontal needle with a supporting lrame secured to said headand provided with grooved wheels, a channel iron whose side members formtracks for said wheel, side supports for said channel iron, a horizontalmain shalt carried by said trame transversely to said track, a motor onsaid frame adapted to rotate said main shalt, a friction clutch betweensaid motor and shaft, a pulley secured on said main shalt and arrangedto drive said sewing head, a vertical sliai't bearing in said frame, aworm on said main shatt dri ving a worm v. Lieel on said vertical shalt,a claw clutch on said vertical shaft adapted to lock said worm wheel tesaid vertil-,al shaft, a pinion on said vertical slialt ou the underside ot said frame, a rack en said channel iron between the tracksadapted to mesh with said pinion, and a treadle mechanism adapted toactuate said friction and claw clutches.

RA T. ENGLISH.

